A big red with a big following thanks to its dense dark and impressive ripe black plummy flavours intermingled with spice in a deliciously full bodied, complex red wine from Waiheke Island's biggest wine producer. 

The grapes in this wine come from six vineyards on the island. They are called  Asylum, Big North, Garden Cove, Mad Mans, Niko Face and North 3; all small sites planted on extremely steep hillsides on a remote and beautiful corner of Waiheke Island. Each little vineyard was originally planted as an experiment to see how well grapes would fare here. The results speak for themselves; Man O' War Dreadnought Syrah is a commanding and powerful red from one of the warmest climates in New Zealand. It was fermented in French oak, 32% new and 68% seasoned and is named after the first in a line of early 20th Century battleships which was named Dreadnought. 

Dark and spicy, full bodied and complex. A wine to drink now and to keep. Giesen's Clayvin Syrah has aromas of blueberry, plum, cinnamon and nutmeg with aniseed notes leading into a powerful palate full of texture and concentration with a lingering savoury finish. Whole bunches make up a component of this wine, which add depth, weight, structure and spicy notes. 

Clayvin was the first hillside vineyard in Marlborough and is now certified organic and is home to a small number of Syrah vines. 

Impressive powerful Shiraz made from 150 year old vines in the Barossa Valley. This rich and elegant wine has  complex aromas of red fruit, chocolate and herbs, complemented by an underlying savoury note. The palate is juicy and fruity, with a good dose of sweet spice. The fruit character in this expressive wine is balanced by the fine grained tannins and a long finish.

Langmeil is owned by the Lindner family, which has been making wine for six generations in the Barossa Valley.

Deep, dark, rich and spicy with multi layered textural refinement, a full body, dry flavours and full spectrum of dark ripe plums held together in a beautifully structured sparkling wine. This special wine represents the great heights of bottle fermented Shiraz - it is the only Australian sparking wine, red or white, that features in the Langton's Classification VII of Australian Wine.

Rockford Wines' legacy

Rockford Wines is an icon itself and a relatively new one, established in 1971 by Robert O'Callaghan, who has forged a reputation for preserving winemaking tradition and saving many of the world's oldest grape vines from being pulled up in the Australian Government's vine pull schemes of the 1970s and 1980s.

The Rockford vintage shed houses equipment from 50 to 100 years ago, which was discarded by other wineries as modernisation took over.

Dry, dark and full bodied wine with impressive structure, made from 100% Syrah grown on 20 to 50 year old vines planted on limestone, sand and pebbles in the appellation of St Joseph. This wine is fermented in stainless steel and was aged for 16 months in second fill oak barrels.

Barrel fermented Syrah with ripe black fleshy plum flavours, hints of baking spice (notes of cinnamon, ginger and cardamon) and a long, structured but smooth finish with ripe tannins and dry flavours. This wine is the jewel in Mission Estate's Syrah crown and is made from 100% Gimblett Gravels grapes. 

Outstanding Hawke's Bay Syrah which was first made in the early 1990s from iron rich soils. This makes Bullnose one of the oldest Syrah brands in Hawke's Bay, named after one of the vineyards from which the wine is made (which, in turn, was named after the vineyard owners' love of old cars, particularly the pre 1928 Bullnose). The grapes come from two vineyards, Bullnose and Isosceles, both in the Bridge Pa Triangle; one of the warmer growing areas of Hawke's Bay, thanks to both soil and climate there. 

Aging for 15 months in French oak, which provides its spicy notes and depth.

A beautiful wine for drinking now or for cellaring. 

Only produced in the best years, this Reserve Syrah is Passage Rock's showcase wine.

Rich ripe aromas of dark forest fruit and spice, coffee and vanilla on the nose lead to a dark garnet intensity in the glass. On the palate, toasted nuts and spices vie with dark berries, integrated ripe tannins and lacy acidity. Cellar it for 10 to 15 years

Rockford Shiraz Cabernet is one of the icons of Australia and of the Barossa Valley with its bold deep ruby colour and powerful tannins adding layers of complex texture and taste to a wine that drinks well now with dark berry flavours and will evolve into a wine with smoothness, spicy notes and black olive depths over time in the bottle.

Rockford Wines' legacy

Rockford Wines is an icon itself and a relatively new one, established in 1971 by Robert O'Callaghan, who has forged a reputation for preserving winemaking tradition and saving many of the world's oldest grape vines from being pulled up in the Australian Government's vine pull schemes of the 1970s and 1980s.

The Rockford vintage shed houses equipment from 50 to 100 years ago, which was discarded by other wineries as modernisation took over. 

This new addition to the Esk Valley stable of wines is a lighter, more fragrant expression of Syrah, which represents a bit of a style departure from its siblings made from grapes grown on the Gimblett Gravels.
In this case, the wine is made from grapes grown on a 1.1 hectare vineyard at the top of The Terraces Vineyard at Bay View, just north of Napier city. The warmth of the limestone soils and the cooling sea breezes combine to ripen Syrah grapes slowly with hot days and cool nights, providing floral aromas supported by depth of dark fruit, black olive and fleshy red fruit notes. All grapes were hand picked and fermented as a mix of whole cluster bunches and destemmed fruit in a single concrete fermenter with wild yeasts. 

It’s made in small volumes and will age for up to and beyond 10 years.

100% Syrah from the Northern Rhone's appellation of St. Joseph which is famous for its powerful wines. The palate offers Oodles of blackberry, black currant and plum fruit that meld with spicy savoury and herbal elements.  The finish is long with black tea and toasty notes.

An elegant Syrah from Hawke's Bay winemaker Kate Radburnd, whose extensive experience of making Syrah brings out the best in this exotic spicy French grape variety. Red fruit aromas are supported here by a velvet smooth backbone of fine tannins. Pure fruited and fragrant, with blueberry and cardamon spice. This Syrah has lingering length and persistence of flavour, a hallmark of this variety.

This delicious, dark and juicy new release is made from hand harvested Syrah grapes, which were destemmed and fermented in open tops with some foot stomping. Some whole bunches were incorporated in the ferment.

Vineyard Sites - Cornerstone Vineyard lies at the heart of the renowned Gimblett Gravels viticultural region, strategically positioned at the junction of Gimblett Road and State Highway 50 in Hawke’s Bay. This area is celebrated as New Zealand’s premier Bordeaux red grape-growing region, and it’s easy to see why. The vineyard’s unique terroir, composed of riverbed stones and gravels, challenges the vines, leading them to produce a limited yield of small, intensely coloured, and flavourful berries. The resulting grapes give rise to wines with rich, mouth-filling tannins and a depth of character that speaks to the harsh yet rewarding growing conditions. 

Vinification - The grapes were carefully handpicked and fermented in small, open vats. Traditional hand-plunging techniques were used to gently extract the rich flavours and colour. After fermentation, the wine underwent varying degrees of post-ferment skin contact to enhance complexity before being pressed off. The wine then proceeded to malolactic fermentation and was aged in French oak barriques, with 30% of the barrels being new, adding subtle layers of oak influence and refinement. 

Tasting Notes - Boasting an inky, deep ruby hue, this wine offers aromas of stewed red fruits, hints of raspberry jam, black cherry, black plum, and violets. Subtle light cedar and toast are so well knitted you almost miss them. On the palate, flavours of cooked red plum and hints of tobacco emerge.  The finish is long, with fruit carrying right through. An outstanding wine, perfect to drink now or age.

Legal academic, property dealer and vigneron, Rene Rostaing crafts some of the finest Cote Roties on the market today. He has owned 2 hectares in the Côte Blonde and La Landone since the 1970s but fortune has blessed him through his inheritance of four hectares of superbly sited vineyards from his father in law Albert Dervieux and another 1.4 hectares of particularly old vines from his uncle Marius Gentaz. He now has 7.4 hectares which in Cote Rotie terms is a significant holding. Rostaing is firmly in the modernist camp of Cote Rôtie producers, destemming the majority of his fruit and being one of the first producers to ferment using vinomatics (horizontal automatic vinifiers). However he dislikes the overt taste of new oak and uses a maximum of 15% in the maturation process. All the wines are bottled unfiltered.

Te Mata Tasting Note

Bright crimson at the edge with a deep purple-black core, Bullnose ’24 is wonderfully expressive and fragrant. Aromas unfold in layers of violet, fresh raspberry, ripe plum and dark cherry, wrapped in black olive with subtle spice and pepper. The palate amplifies the depth of fruit and textural intensity, delivering concentrated richness, framed by a vibrant, precise acid line that imparts energy and a bracingly youthful edge. With underlying power and elegance, fine persistent tannins carry the wine through to a long, beautifully driven finish. Bullnose ’24 is a showstopper. This is a Bullnose for the ages. Enticing, long and beautifully composed.

Outstanding Hawke's Bay Syrah which was first made in the early 1990s from iron rich soils. This makes Bullnose one of the oldest Syrah brands in Hawke's Bay, named after one of the vineyards from which the wine is made (which, in turn, was named after the vineyard owners' love of old cars, particularly the pre 1928 Bullnose). The grapes come from two vineyards, Bullnose and Isosceles, both in the Bridge Pa Triangle; one of the warmer growing areas of Hawke's Bay, thanks to both soil and climate there. 

Aging for 15 months in French oak, which provides its spicy notes and depth.

A beautiful wine for drinking now or for cellaring.